2. Introducing a contrarian concept (e.g., success depends on more than smarts, ambition and hustle) that piques our curiosity and makes us to want to know more.

3. Coining a new word which is destined to become part of the cultural lexicon. Outlier is a “person who doesn’t fit into our normal understanding of achievement. Simply said, they are uncommonly successful (literally and figuratively). The Beatles and Bill Gates are examples of Outliers.”

4. Naming his epiphany or methodology to make it proprietary so it’s associated with him and him alone. In this book, he calls it The 10,000 Hour Rule which refers to the amount of time it takes to turn someone into “someone who is like no other.”

Malcolm Gladwell is a walking-talking example of an IDEApreneur who is not content to be common — and all his readers are wiser because of it.

Do you have a favorite “genius” who is not content to be common — who can be counted on to introduce original, pithy ideas that get YOUR eyebrows up?